Television in Brazil

Television in Brazil has grown significantly since the first broadcasts in 1950, becoming one of largest and most productive commercial television systems in the world. Its biggest network, Rede Globo, is the second largest commercial network in the world, and is one of the largest television exporters around the world, particularly of telenovelas, which have become popular in many countries.

History

Formation

The first broadcasts in Brazil were for the 1950 World Cup, which the country hosted. Television was formally introduced on September 18 in that same year, with the launch of the now-defunct TV Tupi by media mogul Assis Chateaubriand. It was the first Lusophone or Portuguese-speaking country to introduce television, even before the home country of the language Portugal with RTP (1955). It was also the fourth nation in the world to have a television station with daily broadcasts, behind the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The first image to appear in TV Tupi was that of five-year-old Sônia Maria Dorce, who, dressed up as a Native Brazilian, said: "Good evening. You are in the open TV channel of Brazil". The symbol of Tupi was that of a Native Brazilian kid.